A New Face on the Shelf

I stepped down to the lower tier to see who else shared this room. Behind a row of aligned paperbacks, another figure sat perfectly still. It was a round, wooden bear clutching a tiny carved acorn. I paused, testing the floorboard's firmness between us. We exchanged a long, quiet silence. It did not speak, but its posture was upright and steady. I nudged a loose bookmark flat beside its paws to tidy the space, content with my new neighbor.